Cross It Off

I can now officially say that my holiday 2012 knitting is complete! I took the beard to knit night last night and had finished it in about 15 minutes. All that's left to do is block it somehow (maybe a steaming?) and then sew in a couple buttons.

As soon as I finished weaving in the last end on the beard, I got started on another obligation project. This is the beginning of yet another Gramps cardigan that will be a gift for my cousin, who's expecting a baby early in the new year. She and her husband have decided to wait until the baby is born to find out the sex, so I chose what I thought was a nice gender-neutral color: tosh dk in Cousteau.

Normally when I knit for baby gifts I make things on the larger side (usually around a 12 month size), but this is going to be a Chicago baby born in the winter, so s/he will need a warm sweater right away! I'm going to be making the 6 month size and following the same mods I made the last time around. There's been an update to the pattern since then, and I haven't compared the two versions, but I'm hoping my stitch count issue at the end of the raglan decreases has been resolved. Regardless, as this is the third time I've knit this pattern, I think I've certainly gotten my money's worth! The next time I knit it, though, it's gonna be for me.

I've picked up my handspun socks again for my lunchtime knitting and am on the gusset of the first sock. I tried out a little something on this one to see if it'd eliminate the holes I tend to get at the top of the gusset, and it seems to have worked. I will try to take some photos on the second sock so I can share it with you.

We're headed into a busy weekend -- Rainbow's birthday party and the start of Chanukah, followed by the Mister's departure for a business trip -- so I'm going to need my knitting to keep me sane!